


See You Yesterday

by sparklestheclown



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Chan's in the Past, Felix's in the Present, M/M, Pen Pals?, They Share a Locker, Time Loop/Travel, Trainee Days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26713360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklestheclown/pseuds/sparklestheclown
Summary: Felix and Chan are separated by time, but they write letters to each other through the locker they share.For the SKZ Ship Bingo Squares: Time Loop/Time Travel
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix
Comments: 10
Kudos: 98





	See You Yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the movie, The Lake House (which was actually inspired by the movie, Il Mare).
> 
> This was also inspired by Felix's Birthday Vlive, when he explained the meaning behind the Coldplay Song O (Fly On). 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

March 2017

Felix grumbled under his breath as he fiddled with the locker combination. Left 20 right 17 left 8. It wasn’t that hard, but he kept accidentally passing the correct number and having to start over. 

Today was Felix’s first day as a JYP Trainee. His stomach danced with nerves as he unpacked his bag. A letter from one of his friends tumbled out. Before he left Australia to come train, one of his friends wrote him a letter wishing him good luck. Felix picked up the letter, and placed it on the shelf inside the locker. He figured he might as well keep it in here, seeing as he didn’t exactly have a lot of room to keep things safe in the shared dorms.

He finished unpacking his bag before he closed up the locker and headed to the cafeteria for the first night’s dinner.

In the morning, he returned to his locker, cursing softly when he failed to open it the first time. He carefully entered the combination, breathing out a sigh of relief when the lock finally clicked open. 

He grabbed his dance bag and started to pull the locker closed again, when he noticed a slip of paper fluttering down from where it had been wedged into one of the vents on the front of the locker. 

Felix blinked. He didn’t remember seeing that on the front of the locker when he was trying to open it. Weird. He stooped over to scoop the paper off the floor, and scanned his eyes over the paper quickly reading the small handwritten note.

_Uhh, I don’t know who Felix is, but you have the wrong locker mate. This is my locker, and as far as I know there aren’t any Felix’s at the company.  
-Chris_

What was this guy talking about? There were no notes in his locker, and what did he mean, it was his locker? When Felix arrived, he was told to use this locker specifically because it was empty. None of this made any sense. Felix turned the paper over, and grabbed a pen to quickly write a message back before he raced off to dance practice before he was late.

_I’m Felix, and this is my locker. It was empty when I got here, what do you mean it’s yours? Who are you?  
-Felix._

When he returned after dance class, sweaty and exhausted, Felix almost didn’t notice the note balanced on top of his bag. He snatched it up and read it quickly

_Bro, this is MY locker, stop creeping me out. I’ve been here for a year already and it was empty when I got here. Why else would I be able to see the note that was inside it on top of my laptop?  
-Chris_

Felix frowned, before replying. 

_Your laptop? Are you talking about the note my friend gave me before I left Australia? That fell out of my bag and I put it on the shelf. There’s no laptop in my locker mate.  
-Felix_

He walked down the hallway to get water before walking back. As he opened the locker again, his note was gone, a different piece of paper resting on top of the shelf.

_You’re from Australia?? Me too bro! This is so cool, we’re like Aussie bros. I don't mind that we share the locker so much anymore :)  
-Chris_

Felix decided not to press the issue as he replied.

_How long have you been here then? I’ve only been here a couple days and I already miss home like crazy.  
-Felix_

This time, he stood at the locker, closing it briefly and waiting a moment before opening it again to see a note had already arrived.

_Oh bro, I’ve been here for a year. It gets better I guess, although I think about home every day :(  
-Chris_

_Woah really? Do you think you’re going to debut soon? I heard that most people don’t stay here to train very long. They either debut within a few years or leave.  
-Felix_

_I’m not most people, I’m gonna debut. JYP is talking about forming a new group, and he mentioned the guys I dorm with. I might get to debut really soon!  
-Chris_

_Oh really? That’s awesome, I hope you get to debut soon!  
-Felix_

_Me too  
-Chris_

Felix wasn’t sure who his locker buddy was, but they soon became close. Sharing memories of Australia, and helping each other through the struggles of missing home. Chan gave Felix advice as he settled into his training. 

At some point they addressed the fact that neither of them knew each other in the company, and neither knew similar people. Felix asked him what year it was, and they discovered that they didn’t live at the same time. Chris lived a few years in the past, although neither of them could figure out how that worked. They just went with it.

One day, Felix opened his locker to find a few lines, slightly blurred as water had evidently stained the paper.

_Felix,  
I can’t do this. _

_JYP made the group without me, and now everyone I dorm with is going to debut. He wouldn’t tell me why I wasn’t picked. I tried so hard but it wasn’t enough. I miss my family. I miss having free time. I'm so tired. I don’t see an end to this for me. I can’t make more friends here just to watch them debut without me again. It hurts too much._

_I’m not going to debut. I should just go home.  
-Chris _

Felix let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as he finished reading the note. His stomach hurt as he thought about the other boy. He had really thought Chris would debut, he sounded so serious about his work., and Felix was sure he was really good.

Standing in the hallway he wrote a letter to the other. He knew he had to hurry, but he managed to write some encouragement, ending his note with the line,

_I know it’s really hard to keep running when nothing is guaranteed, and there is no insurance, but you have what it takes to make it, you just have to keep running._

_-Felix_

Felix remembered where he was as people buzzed past him in the hallway, hurrying to get seats at the annual trainee showcase. Felix glanced at his watch, he needed to hurry too. He carefully placed his letter to Chris inside of the locker, before turning to head to the showcase.

He gently folded the forlorn note and tucked it into his pocket carefully as he turned and headed towards the showcase. He was set to perform later in the day, and as he stood in the audience, Felix bounced on the balls of his feet, turning his attention to the boys onstage as he tried to dispel his nerves. 

The lights dimmed, and Felix watched as three boys took their places on stage. He didn’t know them, but knew they were veteran trainees at the company. Quite frankly, he was pretty intimidated by them.

As the music began, they jumped into action, and the boy in the front began to sing. Felix studied him. Bleached blond hair, and desperate eyes, the boy was a few years older than Felix. Felix caught a glimpse of his nametag, reading CB97. 

Felix listened, mesmerized, as the boy began the chorus.

_“Roll your feet, keep running  
I'm on that runner's high”_

He sang as though he had trained forever, and Felix was amazed that the three of them were still at the showcase as trainees. They carried the energy of experienced idols, but also the desperation of trainees who may never make it. It was a feeling that all of them felt, a hunger that Felix understood completely. 

Felix listened, nodding his head softly as the boy on the right finished a rap verse and another boy with J.One on his name tag began to rap as well.

_“Running hard without insurance  
On a path that does not guarantee success”_

Felix thought back to the note in his pocket, reminded of his own words to Chris. It reminded him of what he’d written. He wondered if Chris would be here, and if he was also seeing 3racha’s performance. Although it wouldn’t make sense for him to still be here, Felix thought. That would mean he’d have been a trainee for ages. 

If he hadn’t gotten distracted by his own nerves as he prepared to perform, Felix might have realized the similarity between the words and his note, and the verse onstage.

****

About a week later, Felix opened his locker to find a long note from Chris. He’d been waiting for a few days and hadn’t heard anything from the other yet. He honestly wondered if he’d already left and gone home. But as he read through the note, he was happy to hear Chris was still there.

_My new roommates moved in today. I haven’t seen them much. I’ve been keeping pretty busy. Ever since Got7 debuted, It’s been pretty lonely, but that’s okay. I’ve got you, right? It’s funny, I still have no idea who you are, but I guess that does make this more interesting. Anyway, I’m working on writing something that’s been in the back of my mind._

_I’m going to form a group myself. There are three of us, and we work together to produce our own music. I feel like I might actually be getting somewhere for the first time in six years. Changbin and Jisung are cool, and we work really well together. Sometimes I feel like we could just quit this and go sing underground. But we are going to see what we can do here first._

_-Chris_

Felix read the note, smiling. He was glad that things were looking up for Chan. He wasn’t sure why, but their names seemed kind of familiar. He didn’t know where he’d heard them before. He turned the note over, quickly writing his reply before he headed to dance practice. As he walked, he thought of something that made him stop for a moment. Chris said he’d been at the company for six years. Hadn’t he only been there for one? That made no sense, but Felix didn’t have too long to think before he was distracted.

As he walked down the hallway, one of the senior trainees passed him going the opposite direction. He was one of the 3racha singers that Felix had seen at the showcase, the one with blond hair, whose name Felix learned was Chan. Felix watched as he came closer, surprised when the other boy looked right at him. The other boy looked thoughtful as he studied Felix’s face. Felix worried that his hair was bad, or maybe he had something on his face, but Chan just nodded at him slightly and the moment was over. He had passed by him and was already walking away.

Felix stopped in the hallway, a wave of deja vu hitting him like a ton of bricks. He paused for a moment before he wheeled around and hurried after the boy.

“Hey, you’re Chan right?” Felix asked, as he caught up to him.

The boy turned around and nodded. He had a kind face, and up close, Felix could see dark circles resting under the boy’s eyes. He wondered briefly if the other boy got enough sleep. 

“Hi, um, I saw you at the trainee showcase, and I wanted to say you guys are so good! You had a great energy” Felix said, hurriedly, stumbling slightly over his words.

“Thanks!” Chan smiled, his entire face lighting up. 

If they had time maybe they would have said more, but dance practice waited for no one. Felix turned and hurried down the hall, making it just in time for dance practice.

****

Eventually Chan figured out what was happening with the time. They realized that they wouldn’t meet each other until Chris caught up to Felix, and Chris wrote him a final time.

_Felix,  
I’m stuck in the past, and I can’t catch up to you unless we stop talking to each other. Every time I take a break from writing to you, the gap between us gets smaller. Remember how the first time I wrote to you I’d only been here a year?_

_I really want to meet you in person, and I don’t want to be stuck a year before you forever. That’s why I have to stop writing to you now._

_I’ll keep training hard and I’ll find you one day hopefully. I’ll catch up to you so we can be together, for real._

_I have to say goodbye for now, but I promise. One day when things are different and when the time is right, I'll be next to you. right by your side._

_as if I were a flying bird._

_-Chris_

***

March 2017 

Chan walked down the hallway towards his old locker. A few months ago he’d switched to a locker on the other side of the building, and nowadays he only came this way occasionally. He stopped as his eyes landed on someone new. A boy stood a few meters away fiddling with the lock on his old locker. As if he felt Chan’s eyes on his back, the boy turned around, his eyes immediately meeting Chan’s. 

_And he smiled._


End file.
